'Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work' screens at the Bermuda Documentary Film Festival on Sunday. Directors Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg spent a year shadowing Ms Rivers as part of the film.

A veteran of 40 years in the entertainment business, Ms Rivers is a Tony-nominated actress, best-selling author, Emmy Award-winning television talk show host, playwright, screenwriter, motion picture director, columnist, lecturer, syndicated radio host, jewellery designer and cosmetic company entrepreneur, red carpet fashion laureate all in all, a successful businesswoman.

Ms Stern first met Ms Rivers through family.

"I knew very little about Joan's history in the comedy world; but I knew she was considered the grand dame of comedy," said Ms Stern. "We had recently finished several documentaries that addressed subjects like genocide and injustice, so the idea of doing a film about a comedian was appealing to all of us at Break Thru Films.

"Once we spent time with Joan, it was clear that her personal story as a breakthrough female per- former and her life's course of struggle and reinvention were universal stories; her story would ultimately emerge as the quintessential tale of an ageing performer determined to succeed and remain in the spotlight."

After two brief meetings, Ms Stern asked Ms Rivers if she would like to be featured in a documentary that would illustrate her lifelong work while also capturing the obsessive drive of her every day struggle to keep performing. She agreed with no hesitation.

"However, I was a bit wary," said Ms Stern. "We warned her, 'Joan we will be there on Saturday morning as you roll out of bed with no make-up.' She responded, 'I have lived my life in front of the cameras, I know how this goes.'

"Remarkably, in the course of filming her over the following 14 months, Joan never gave us reason for concern again," said Ms Stern. "Joan allowed us unedited insight into her life and unconditional access to meetings, rehearsals, hiring and firings, dress fittings, birthdays, dog training and holidays.

"The only place we were not allowed was Prince Charles' birthday, but honestly that was more a function of Buckingham Palace security than anything else."

The film was shot over a 14-month period beginning on Ms Rivers' 75th birthday.

"At our first sit down interview with Joan, her assistant Jocelyn checked the lighting to make sure there were no unflattering shadows on Joan, but after that day, they never checked the lighting again," said Ms Stern. "Our trust in each other was sealed that day.

"Our very first day filming, Joan's dog had been put to sleep the night before and she met us at the door in tears.

"She wanted a new dog that day. So we all walked down to the nearest pet store and Joan got her new dog Sammy.

"Just walking from Joan's apartment to the pet store and back provided enough funny and intimate moments that we were hooked.

"After one day of shooting, we knew Joan would be a complex, controversial subject who would take us on a roller-coaster ride for the following year."

Ms Stern said the biggest challenges during filming was confronting people's preconceived idea of the comedian.

"While much of Joan's work this year could be taken at face value as entertainment, scenes were constructed to tell Joan's greater, more universal story — that of an ageing performer in a business and culture driven by beauty and youth," said Ms Stern.

She said that Ms Rivers' sheer workload was an additional challenge.

"Joan definitely tired of us at times, questioning the film's interest and narrative," said Ms Stern. "She that if she died during the course of the filming, we'd have a great movie — that became the running joke.

"I believe Joan quietly wondered, and feared, how her life caught on film would look cut into a documentary. Would her everyday life be interesting?

"Would her comedy translate to film? Who would really care? What do you think people will learn about Joan that they weren't aware of before the film?

"When I first showed Joan the final cut, just the two of us in her apartment with grilled American cheeses set before us, she was fairly quiet throughout the viewing.

"She'd occasionally jot down a note and chuckle at an old joke but her feedback was very minimal.

"Of course the scenes we worried about the most — when Joan was the most vulnerable and bare — were not a concern for her.

"All her comments were directed at how other people might feel, she didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings."

The director hoped that people would take away from the film, a sense that Joan Rivers was funny, edgy and relevant.

"She's a captivating and bold female performer, writer, icon, and businesswoman," said Ms Stern. "She has the bravery to tackle issues in her comedy that has left her excluded from the boys' clubs and removed from lists of more 'appropriate' lady comediennes.

"Her comedy dissects the truth, and she embraces humour to ease the pain of tragedy.

"She has personally confronted suicide, business failure and biting criticism, and in the face of it all she perseveres."

'Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work' screens Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute. Tickets, $15, are available at www.bdatix.bm.

A trailer from the film can be seen at www.bermudadocs.com.